Biochemical and Biomolecular Engineering Commons^™

Biological Conversion Of Carbon Dioxide To Value-Added Chemicals, Owen James Mcgrath

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

As Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) levels in the atmosphere continue to rise due to human intervention, there is increased urgency to take actions to mitigate the potential ramifications. Many countries have instituted a CO₂ tax and have provided funding to finding potential solutions to our growing CO₂ problem. Further investigating CO₂ capture, sequestration, and utilization is key to combating rising CO₂ levels and methods being investigated have increased substantially in recent years. Converting CO₂ into fuels and value-added chemicals provides a unique opportunity to create materials of value from a substance that is being …

Next Generation Of Applications Of Metal-Organic Frameworks For Energy And Environmental Sustainability, Qian Liu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

My PhD work aimed at using Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for mitigating the environmental issues and energy crisis associated with anthropogenic activities. Specifically, we developed robust platforms and/ or systems using MOF as “scaffolds” to allow for model pollutant detection and CO₂ sequestration and benign transformation respectively.

First, I detailed how photocatalytic properties of 2,5-furandicarbocylic acid (FDCA) in its alone and its MOF- integrated form (MIL-160) were used for the first time for the reduction of Ag⁺ at room conditions. Such photocatalytic activities could then be used in user-designed hybrids (i.e., Ag/MIL-160) to form sensorial platforms for prevalent phenol …

Elucidating The Properties And Mechanism For Cellulose Dissolution In Tetrabutylphosphonium-Based Ionic Liquids Using High Concentrations Of Water, Brad Crawford

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

The structural, transport, and thermodynamic properties related to cellulose dissolution by tetrabutylphosphonium chloride (TBPCl) and tetrabutylphosphonium hydroxide (TBPH)-water mixtures have been calculated via molecular dynamics simulations. For both ionic liquid (IL)-water solutions, water veins begin to form between the TBPs interlocking arms at 80 mol % water, opening a pathway for the diffusion of the anions, cations, and water. The water veins allow for a diffusion regime shift in the concentration region from 80 to 92.5 mol % water, providing a higher probability of solvent interaction with the dissolving cellulose strand. The hydrogen bonding was compared between small and large …

Review Of Established And Emergent Methods For The Production Of C4 Olefins, James Matthew Koval

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Current production of C₄ olefins is dominated by naphtha cracking and butane dehydrogenation, but significant research interest is developing in alternate feedstocks due to an abundance of inexpensive natural gas and bioethanol. The current C₄ olefin production methods are costly, make use of already-depleted petroleum resources, and are often hazardous to workers, which forms the impetus for investigation into alternative methods and assessment of their viability as a future means of olefin production. Methods of natural gas conversion to higher order hydrocarbons are discussed, including Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and oxidative methane coupling, each of which could form the first …

Applications Of Cellular Components In Engineered Environments, Xiao Hu

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Manipulation of cellular components in synthetic environment has attracted interest for applications ranging from sensors to nanelectronics and from catalysis to biomedical devices. In such applications, biological-based processes such as specific recognition and self-assembly direct the formation of hierarchical structures, all at minimum energetic costs, with high efficiency and reliability.

Among such cellular machines, microtubules and kinesins have attracted special interest. Inside the cells, microtubules are giving structural integrity while serving as regular and uniform tracks for transport of vesicles or organelles. Kinesin uses a microtubule track in vivo to progress to specific locations with processive and coordinated steps, all …